Colwill faces 'make or break' international year

Wales Under-21s boss Matthew Jones has urged Rubin Colwill to be inspired by the advice he is receiving as he faces a “make or break” year at international level.

Jones believes the Cardiff forward is the “biggest, most brightest talent Wales have had for a long, long time".

But he has added to the voices who feel Colwill must continue to improve the defensive aspects of his game to fulfil his potential.

Jones said: “I just hope the trajectory goes forward, that he does not plateau, that he does not get tired of hearing the same thing.

"I hope he gets inspired by taking this information on board and really pushes forward with his career.”

Colwill was included in Rob Page’s squad for the delayed Euros 2021 and featured in the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

But he has yet to nail down a regular spot in the senior squad. Next week Colwill and Charlie Savage will be in Jones’ under-21 group for the crunch European Championship qualifier with Czechia in Newport next Friday.

Jones added: “Rubin is faced with that dilemma of being on the periphery of the squad, he has some real healthy competition in front of him in the senior squad.

"At the moment he is lucky to be in the under-21s, because at least then he can fall back in and have international exposure.

“But we do know it's going to be a tough12 months for him going forward and one that could probably make or break his international career.”

After an injury ravaged season in the 2023-24 campaign, Colwill has strung together a run of four consecutive starts for the Bluebirds since the last international break.

Indeed, Jones watched Colwill produce some magic moments during Cardiff’s 1-0 Championship victory over Millwall on Tuesday.

“We are going to give him the full backing, the full support. He excites me every time we play because he can make something happen in the game," added Jones.

“I was there watching [against Millwall] and seeing those moments of brilliance. I think it’s the whole package that we are looking to support Rubin with and making sure he is heavily motivated with the other side of his game as well as the individual brilliance we see.”

Asked to define what Colwill has to improve, the under-21 chief said: “The message for Rubin has always been when you play in front of 30,000 and you have not got the coach or manager on the side line, one because you can’t hear him and two because there’s more important things happening, that has to come from inside.

“I think that is an area where Rubin has improved, that self motivation, the self drive to defend, to recover over distances to react instinctively in counter pressing moments. Those are the areas that will complete the package of Rubin Colwill.

“Against Millwall we saw unbelievable moments of brilliance, real individual talent that no other player showed. He had the freedom to go and explore and make things happen from deeper areas on the pitch. I love giving him that freedom.

“But there also has to be discipline, there has to be a defensive nature or a defensive instinct or habit that you adhere to. That is about behaviour, that is about mentality and we are fully supporting Rubin.”

At the age of 22, Colwill is now competing in his final under-21 campaign. Jones says the Neath-born player is benefitting from advice from coaches at Cardiff and the international set-up.

“The club have done some terrific work with Rubin in terms of progressing and improving those areas but there will come a time when Rubin falls out of this age bracket, he won’t be eligible to play for the under-21s," said Jones.

“At the moment there are great conversations around supporting the under-21s group to get success and compete and qualify for a major tournament. But for Rubin going forward, he really needs to make a stamp he really needs to impress Craig Bellamy and the new manager who comes into Cardiff, because it can be an exciting time for him.”

Cardiff are currnently seeking a new permanent manager with Omer Riza the interim boss following last week's sacking of Erol Bulut.

Jones added: “As many have spoken before... he is the biggest, brightest talent Wales have had for a long, long time.

"It’s up to Rubin to maximise that talent and really showcase that potential or go on to fulfil the potential we all speak about.

“Potential is one thing, it’s up to us to provide the opportunity for the players to fulfil potential.

"But genuinely it's up to the players themselves and their mindset to fulfil their own potential.”